By Buba Gagigo
Basamba Drammeh, the Chief Executive Officer of Red Carpet Solution, has confirmed that his company faced difficulties in accommodating their passengers traveling to Nicaragua on the 30th of October.
After encountering multiple delays while attempting to transport their Nicaragua-bound passengers, Basamba Drammeh informed Kerr Fatou earlier this month that the passengers would ultimately depart the country on the 30th of October 2023.
The flight experienced delays due to challenges observed in Senegal and Gambia, along with the ongoing immigration-related issues. As a result, they needed to exercise patience and carefully plan their course of action,” explained Drammeh to Kerr Fatou.
The CEO of Red Carpet Solution also mentioned that they no longer require a landing permit to transport their Nicaragua-bound passengers.
“We don’t need the landing permit of the Gambia because we want to take off somewhere else, and we are holding that information confidential. The thing is, we realized that things are all over, we could be intercepted anywhere from now. So we need to hold on and plan our things through because it is all over ‘trafficking’ that has been repeated all over, and we’re trying to put ourselves into that lane.
“We have to make everything possible, we have to organize a program in Nicaragua, a program that everybody is going to attend. We have to do everything legal to make it a hundred percent Tourism thing. As far as Red Carpet Solution can’t obtain the landing permit from the GCAA we transferred the powers and everything to our new contractor, which is Tour and Guide Agency. This Tour and Guide Agency is responsible for everything and not Red Carpet Solution,” he explained.
Basamba Drammeh also held some of their customers responsible for bringing the matter to the media’s attention. He stated that both the police and the National Agency Against Trafficking In Persons (NAATIP) have initiated an investigation into the situation.
“So what we engage ourselves in is those people, the people who have gone to the media and made some damage in the name of Red Carpet Solution and whatsoever, though it was their own benefits, and they said we have been holding their monies and whatsoever, late of bringing the flight, they cost us a lot. They cost us even these delays because a police investigation has opened and National Agency Against Trafficking In Persons (NAATIP) authorities have been calling us. We have been reporting, and they have done so many interviews with our clients, like the people who wanted a refund. These have cost us a lot and have cost so many delays,” he said.
He also mentioned that they have already issued refunds to 80% of the individuals who requested reimbursement of their funds. He stated, “We understand that even when a flight is available those people will not go because they came in the open fighting us. So the refund is actually going on. Some four million Dalasis have been spent on refunds. Batchilly is already in the Gambia doing that. Thousands of people went to Senegal, Gambians are even going to Senegal and are paying a huge amount of money to get a Senegalese passport to go. This whole thing happened I think is just because of Batchilly I believe. It is because of his involvement in politics and whatsoever. So they’re trying to tarnish the whole thing. That’s why Batchilly is out of it. I, myself (Red Carpet Solution) is out of it. Now is the new company taking over.”
After speaking to Basamba Drammeh, Kerr Fatou spoke to some of the victims of his alleged scam. Amath Kujabi told us: “We are still here, and I have still not been refunded anything. He doesn’t pick up my calls now and if you go to his house you will not find him there.”
Aji Fatou said, “We are still here but for me, I withdrew a long time ago, and I have told him I needed a refund of my money. We hadn’t seen any flight and still now he refused to give us our money. He told me he would refund my money yesterday, but still, I didn’t hear from him.”
Buba Sillah said, “They told us on the 30th, but they failed. I still can’t get my money, and they didn’t tell me anything. And I know a lot of people who didn’t still get their money. I gave him $7200 and also two thousand Dalasis.”
Ansumana said: “I still don’t have my money. You, yourself (the reporter) know everything, and you know there’s nothing true about Batchilly issues. If it was true, I wouldn’t have been here today. I plead with you, I don’t want to talk about Batchilly.”